Looking back...

The polarization of the world as we see it now, is indeed unfortunate. There are no neutral countries. You are either with the West, in their War on Terror or you are against it. The belief of the leadership in the world's most powerful country [ I know, I know - with people like you and me, India is all set to pose a threat to this status] is that the only way to fight terrorism is to eliminate its roots from the troubled Middle Eastern regions. And the chosen way to do it, is to sow and cultivate the seeds of democracy, hoping that with some careful and watchful nurture we see the fruits of world peace [I know that too - I sound like a gardner]

However, is this state of affairs the result of the attack on the World Trade Towers on September 11? Is that the day the "world changed"? As with many things, once you move out of the circle and get rid of some stubborn perceptions, a different perspective is very possible.

Let's look at a different opinion. The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently published a report. I've taken some information from the report that is relevant here:

1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall
1989-1991: Fall of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe
1990: Victory of the US led coalition in reversing Iraq's annexation of Kuwait
1991: Fall of the Soviet Union
1993: Israeli - Palestinian Peace Pact

These five major events were all in the interests of peace. The fall of Communism and the end of the Cold War meant a victory for Democracy. We could expect bigger and better things....

What unfolded is something as expected as the Indian Elections.

The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in a vacuum that resulted in wars in Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechenya.
There were wars in Asia [the Tajik Civil War] and territorial disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Afghanistan went through a bloody civil war, and saw the Taliban take control [Osama bhai was in place].
The Prime Minister of Isreal - Yitzhak Rabin - was assasinated in 1994 and there was a renewal of tension between Arabs and Israeli's.

Notice the common thread from the above? All the above conflicts involved Muslim states. Maybe a unfortunate coincidence, but whatever the reason, the action or rather the inaction of the world's sole superpower and the international community in dealing with these situations resulted in deep resentment, and these places served as breeding grounds for terrorists, and radicals.

And so came September 11,2001...

For the full report: www.csis.org